2019 Paris E-Prix / Formula E CARS

The 2018-2019 Formula E season saw the arrival of the second generation Formula E car, the “Gen2”. The Paris E-Prix which takes place this Saturday on April 27th is the perfect opportunity to review this new car.

What’s exactly the difference between the Gen1 and the Gen2 cars ?

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I think Batman would love to drive one of these cars ! It’s true that the new Gen2 cars have a Batmobile appearance, especially from the rear. In my opinion, they definitely look better than the previous generation, they really look more special. The car is designed by SPARK (which was also behind the Gen1) and the FIA – motorsport’s governing body. Its name is Spark SRT05e. It now has the FIA Halo head protective device, integrated into the chassis. The aero is more advanced to increase downforce and to allow drivers to follow cars more easily.

This second generation of all-electric race cars has double the energy storage capacity of the Gen1 car. Now, the cars can cover the whole race distance without having to be swapped mid-race. To go deeper into details and numbers, now it develops a maximum power of 250kW (335bhp) and 200kW (270bhp) in Race Mode whereas the Gen1 had 200kW (268bhp) in maximum power and 180kW (240bhp) in Race Mode. The maximum power regeneration is 250kW, it was 150kW for the Gen1. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds (Gen1 : 3.0 seconds) and its top speed is 280 km/h whereas the previous generation car top speed was 225km/h.

About the powertrain, it follows the Gen1 car, consisting of the inverter, the motor and the transmission.

Regarding the brakes, now there’s a brake-by-wire system (BBW) which gives a balanced and consistent braking effect compared to the previous gen cars when regenerating energy under braking.

The tyres are MichelinPilot Sport all-weather tyres, specially designed for electric street racing. They are lighter than their predecessors with much lower rolling resistance. About the suspensions, the front is a fixed design but manufacturers can fit and set up their own dampers. At the rear, the design is down to the team.